Just Missed The Train
Chapter Fourteen
o.o.o
Roxas was being reckless for the next few days. He couldn't stand the thought of losing Kairi once again. He even went as far as to stand outside of her apartment and wait. He was driving himself crazy and he just wanted to apologize to her. He couldn't believe he put his hands on her in such a harmful way. Kairi had been avoiding him ever since.
Christmas was tomorrow. He didn't want to spend another Christmas alone.
o.o.o
Kairi sat on the bathroom floor and hugged her knees tightly. She had finally built up the courage to take the second pregnancy test. Sixty seconds felt like forever for the overwhelmed redhead. She kind of already knew the answer. Why else would she be late, her senses heightened and her moods even worse than before? They were so bad that she was overly sensitive to everything now.
The vertical line appeared, clear as day. Kairi watched as a horizontal line cut through. She dropped the test and began to shake. Her eyes filled with tears. Her worst fears were confirmed. She was indeed—pregnant.
Namine was the only one that she could tell. Kairi took a picture of the result and sent it to her. She wasn't excited at all. This was a nightmare. How was she going to tell Sora? He was bound to find out eventually, wasn't he?
Abortion wasn't even an option. Kairi didn't believe in that. In fact, it sickened her.
Namine called her, screaming with excitement. All Kairi could do was cry more.
"I know it's scary, but trust me... everything will be okay! Sora will be ecstatic!" Namine exclaimed.
Kairi sniffled and shook her head. "No..."
"No? You don't think Sora will be happy about it?" Namine asked on the other line.
"...You don't know anything..."
o.o.o
This prompted Namine to come over right away. She left the baby with Riku and grabbed her purse.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Riku pouted.
"Kairi needs me right now!"
Namine drove down the road. As she came to Kairi's street, she spotted Roxas on the sidewalk, heading in the other direction. She called out to him and waved. He looked up, saw her, but barely cracked a smile and just kept walking.
"Wonder what's wrong with him?" Namine said aloud. She turned into the parking garage.
Kairi was still crying in the bathroom when she heard the doorbell. She didn't move. It rang again. She heard Namine's voice. Lifting herself up with all of her might, Kairi tried wiping her tears away, but her eyes were red and it was apparent that she had been crying for a while. She threw the pregnancy test away and went to let Namine in.
"Oh, Kairi..." Namine hugged her friend tightly. "Trust me, I know how you feel..."
"I... don't think you do..."
Namine parted from her. They closed the door and locked it. Kairi fell onto the couch. She just couldn't hold back from crying. Everything she had done was finally hitting her. It was time to deal with it.
But... how?
"Kairi, what's been going on? Are you and Sora having problems or something?" Namine asked carefully. She wanted to help her, but she needed Kairi to do her part.
"Sora..." Kairi buried her face in her hands. Namine came over and rubbed her back. "Sora... he's... such... a great guy..."
"Yeah, he is. I know... so why are you crying?"
"Because... I'm..." Kairi choked. She couldn't finish her sentences.
"If you tell me, maybe we can work through it. I'm worried about you, Kairi..."
If she told Namine, would she lose her too?
"I... c-can't..."
Namine got up and got Kairi some water. She brought it back and forced her to drink it. Kairi sipped on it, then put it down on the floor.
"Whatever it is, Kairi, I'm here for you. You're my best friend..." Namine assured her, but Kairi was an emotional wreck.
"I'm... the worst..." The lump in Kairi's throat wouldn't go away. She was starting to feel sick again; her temperature was at an all time high.
"Take your time..." Namine continued to comfort her the best that she could.
"Namine... I... cheated on Sora..."
o.o.o
Roxas had to search for another place to stay since his week was up at the hotel. He couldn't possibly afford to live there by himself. Even with his discount, it was much more expensive than sharing an apartment with Axel, obviously.
He took one last shower, got dressed and went to check out.
"Report back the day after Christmas for work." His boss told him. He nodded and walked out.
Where was he going to go?
He didn't have anyone.
Well—there was one person.
"Xion..."
o.o.o
Marluxia held a mandatory meeting for Sora and Tifa that day. They both entered the hotel lobby, where Marluxia was enjoying a nice cup of coffee as he read the Traverse Town newspaper.
Sora felt a little awkward next to Tifa, but it seemed like she didn't remember a thing about the night before. He knew that it meant nothing to her and she was just drunk, and of course it meant nothing to Sora, but he couldn't help but keep a considerable amount of distance from her.
They both sat in separate recliners across from Marluxia. He put the newspaper down and smiled.
"We're here, sir." Sora stated the obvious.
"Ah, yes. Well, I'm going to keep this short. You two have been working very hard, so it's only fair that I let you spend the holidays at home."
"Really?" Sora's eyes lit up.
"Hurry up and go home before I change my mind!" Marluxia demanded.
"Yes sir!" They bowed to him and hurried back to their rooms.
o.o.o
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Namine shrieked. She could barely comprehend what Kairi had just told her.
"I'm a horrible person! I deserve to die!" Kairi screamed.
Namine took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down, but inside, she wanted to yell at Kairi even more.
"What... has gotten into you?!"
"I don't know!" Kairi's face was soaked with tears.
Namine registered her words in her mind. This was so unlike Kairi, she thought. Of all people, Kairi was unfaithful? The one she was jealous of? The one that supposedly, had the perfect guy? What could have possibly gone wrong?
"...Do I know him?"
Kairi simply nodded.
"...Who... is it...?" She staggered. Kairi couldn't answer. "Please don't tell me..." She remembered seeing Roxas earlier, "Is it... Roxas?"
Kairi turned her head and nodded slightly in shame.
"Oh... my... God..."
Bitter silence filled the air.
"Please... you can't tell... anyone..."
"It's not my place to tell..." Namine was still trying to process everything. "But... how long are you going to keep this from Sora?"
Namine had so many questions. Why? How long had she been seeing him? Was Roxas the father?
"I... have to tell him... eventually..."
o.o.o
As Sora was heading towards the station, he noticed a small jewelry shop. He hadn't gotten anything for Kairi yet and being Christmas Eve, it was now or never. He checked the time; he still had about thirty minutes until the train was supposed to leave. Sora stepped into the store and looked around.
"Hello, sir! Merry Christmas Eve! Looking for something for a special lady?" The woman behind the counter asked. "My name is Rikku. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!" She said cheerfully. Sora blushed and looked around.
Did he want to get her a necklace? Earrings?
...A ring?
The prices were outrageous. Sora continued towards the back of the store.
"I can see it on your face." Rikku swooped around him and got behind the ring counter. "You're looking for an engagement ring!"
"Umm... well..." Sora glanced at the prices once again. "I can't afford any of these... not now, at least..."
"Let me show you some more budget worthy options that are just as exceptional. Follow me!" Rikku hurried across the store; Sora tried to keep up with her without knocking anything over. This girl was energetic. She got behind another counter. Rings of all different colors (and that's what they were to Sora, just shiny colors), glistened beneath him. The prices were a little more reasonable.
"This ring here," Rikku took one out and showed him, "Is my absolute favorite. It's a gorgeous three-stone diamond ring with a golden band. Your girl would faint if you showed her this ring!"
Sora thought it looked nice, but he was thinking like all men. "How much is it...?"
Rikku stared at him for a moment, as if she was pondering about something. "Tell me, how long have you been with your girlfriend?"
"Hmm... eleven years." Sora said proudly. Rikku's eyes widened in shock.
"How old are you?!"
"25. She's very special to me." Sora's face turned red.
"Awww!" Rikku clasped her hands together. "That is amazing! Well, since it's the holidays and this girl is definitely very special to you, I will sell you this diamond ring for exactly $1,200. Trust me, it's the best deal around!"
"That's... still a lot..." Sora rubbed the back of his head.
"Can you really put a price on love?"
Sora didn't fall for that trick. "I will pay $950 for it. That's the best I can do."
Rikku contemplated for a while. Was Sora really doing this? Was he really buying an engagement ring? Would this fix everything? Of course not, but at least it was a start. He wanted to show her that he loved her.
"$1,000 and we have a deal. And that's me being super nice!" Rikku said.
Sora calculated all of his monthly payments in his head. Maybe he could afford this after all. Besides, he would only have to buy it once, right?
"I'll take it!" He smiled.
o.o.o
Zexion opened the door to his hotel room and saw Roxas there. Rolling his eyes, he let him in. Xion came into the room shortly after.
"I'm so glad that you were in town. How often do you two come to the islands?" Roxas asked.
"Every now and then." Xion shrugged. "And Zexion has abandonment issues so he follows me everywhere."
Zexion snapped at her and went to his room. Roxas chuckled.
"I'm only here until the day after tomorrow. I'm sorry about your house."
Roxas shrugged. "It happens."
"Merry Christmas... Eve." Xion told him.
"Merry Christmas Eve to you too."
o.o.o
Sora finally made it back home that night. He took out his key and adjusted the bag on his shoulder so that it wouldn't fall. He could hear the TV blaring inside. He opened the door. It was dark, besides the light of the TV and a medium sized, lit up Christmas tree. There was one, wrapped present underneath it. Kairi was sleeping on the couch.
Sora set his bag down and pulled the covers over her; they were almost falling off. He gently kissed her forehead and just watched her for a few more moments.
Kairi didn't wake up; she had passed out several hours earlier from all of the stress. Namine left shortly after—she had a family to attend to.
Sora went into the bedroom and put on some comfortable clothes. He took the newly bought ring out of his pocket and hid it up high in his closet where Kairi couldn't see it. Taking a deep breath, he almost couldn't believe that he bought it. Should he ask her tomorrow?
Sora pulled back the covers on the bed so that there was some space to put Kairi. He went back into the living room and carefully picked her up. He made sure she was secured and took her back into the bedroom, laying her down on the bed. Kairi mumbled something to herself and rolled around.
'Crap, I woke her...'
Sora put the covers over her once again and went to his side of the bed. Kairi had stopped moving and seemed comfortable again. Sora got in next to her and wrapped one arm around her waist.
"I love you, Kairi..." he whispered. He heard Kairi's phone buzzing in her pocket. Amazingly, she didn't wake up. Sora was able to take it out of her pocket. Just before silencing the phone, he noticed who was calling.
"Roxas? Hello?" He answered quietly. Why was he calling her phone so late at night?
"Oh... hey, Sora." Roxas said on the other line. "I... couldn't get a hold of you, so... I called Kairi. Just wanted to say... Merry Christmas..."
Sora felt like he was lying, but in the spirit of Christmas, he returned the gesture and hung up. Putting her phone on silent, Sora looked over at Kairi, who was sound asleep.
'I don't have any missed calls from him.' Sora thought. Part of him wanted to snoop in her phone, but instead he just put the phone down on the nightstand and tried to go to sleep.
Something was going on, though.
o.o.o